Premier League | Boxing Day | Arsenal overthrow West Ham and remain Premier League leaders

Gabriel Jesus was able to realize that he was not essential but is still delighted. Because Arsenal, even deprived of its usual center forward, hit hard by clearly winning against West Ham on Monday at the end of Boxing Day (3-1). Despite the visitors’ opener, the Gunners reacted superbly to reverse the situation thanks to Bukayo Saka (53rd), Gabriel Martinelli (59th) and Eddie Nketiah (69th). They consolidate their position as leaders in the ranking.

Mikel Arteta’s men can savor because their evening had started badly. In this quickly intense London duel, they quickly set up a well-oiled passing game thanks to movement and percussion. Active on his right side, Saka even thought he opened the scoring after a handover from the stirring Nketiah, aligned at the forefront in place of Gabriel Jesus (5th). His goal was however disallowed for an unclear offside.

Saliba not quite up to speed yet

Masters of the ball at the start of the match, the Gunners of Arteta came up against opponents positioned very low. The Hammers were above all very realistic by obtaining a penalty for a foul from William Saliba, holder 8 days after the World Cup final, on Jarrod Bowen. Said Benrahma transformed the sanction for a third goal in the league this season and the situation has necessarily changed (0-1, 27th).

Galvanized, the visitors defended with great solidarity until the break and contained the Gunners not biting enough in the zone of truth despite 71% possession and who did not obtain the penalty they expected (45th + 4) . However, the half-time was very beneficial to Arteta’s men. The Spanish coach obviously found the right words and tactical solutions in the locker room.

Arsenal go wild

Always dominating and even still a little sharper in the transmissions, the Gunners especially had the good idea to hit more from afar. The excellent Thomas Partey alerted Lukasz Fabianski (48th), the playmaker Martin Odegaard, he somewhat missed his shot in front of the zone of truth but it turned into a decisive pass for the opportunist Saka who equalized and definitely put his own in the right direction (1-1, 53rd).

In front of Arsène Wenger and a hungry public, the Gunners raised their voices again. Shifted to the left of the surface by Granit Xhaka, Martinelli managed to deceive Fabianski from a tight angle to give Arsenal the advantage (2-1, 59th). The Brazilian international has long made Vladimir Coufal suffer. Nketiah, he weighed little on the opposing defense but was effective in pivoting after a pass from Odegaard to worsen the score (3-1, 69th). Overwhelmed, West Ham also remained far too cautious and suffered a 4th consecutive defeat in the league. For Arsenal, it is a fourth success in a row in the Premier League and the assurance of being able to perform even without Gabriel Jesus.